SAN FRANCISCO — The future of an embattled Contra Costa judge with a record of misconduct is now up to a judicial disciplinary panel who will decide whether he stays on the bench or not.

Superior Court Judge Bruce C. Mills reported himself to an oversight commission after a county prosecutor brought forth a new complaint against him, it was revealed during a judicial disciplinary hearing Wednesday.

Mills, who is facing two new counts of misconduct, appeared before a three-judge panel who listened to evidence from the state Commission on Judicial Performance — the government body that disciplines judges — as well as two witnesses testifying on the judge’s behalf. The hearing began Wednesday and concluded Thursday. The panel’s recommendations are expected within the next 60 days. If the charges are sustained, Mills — a judge since 1995 — could be removed from the bench.

Mills has been disciplined for misconduct five times since 2001, and the commission filed two new counts of misconduct against him last year. One alleges he illegally doubled a man’s jail sentence in a contempt of court case by revoking his credits for good behavior, and the other alleges Mills had an improper courtroom conversation with a prosecutor about the DUI case they were handling, where he gave the prosecutor advice on how to handle the case.

One of the commission’s witnesses was former presiding Judge Steve Austin, who testified Wednesday that he discussed the DUI case with Mills after the prosecutor, William Moser, brought forth a complaint to his supervisor. Austin testified that the judge recounted the conversation to him, but told Austin it was “small talk” and a “war story.”

Still, Austin testified that he told Mills the conversation with Moser was a “potentially serious” matter and that he would likely report him to the commission and start his own investigation. Days later, Mills told Austin that he’d reported himself, Austin testified.

Moser also testified Wednesday, saying Mills initiated the exchange in the courtroom, minutes after the DUI trial had gone to the jury. He said Mills asked Moser something to the effect of, “Do you want to know what I would have done?” and told Moser he would have made an analogy about the science of honey bee flight when discussing the accuracy of the DUI breathalyzer in the case.

“Being an officer of the court, I didn’t think it was an appropriate conversation,” Moser, now a Solano County deputy district attorney, testified, adding that he informed his supervisor shortly thereafter.

Mills’ attorney James Murphy, in his opening statement, said the judge was having a “social conversation” with Moser and made a “historical reference” to how breathalyzer tests were done decades ago when Mills was a prosecutor, but that the judge didn’t believe he’d engaged in an inappropriate conversation.

With respect to the other count, Murphy told the panel that Mills had been legitimately confused as to whether good behavior time applied to a contempt sentence, so he ordered his clerk to write that the credits didn’t apply, after he’d signed a sentencing order that made no mention of whether or not they applied. The man Mills jailed, Joseph Sweeney, is a judicial reform advocate who heavily criticized the commission and was found in contempt for publishing private information about his ex-wife during a contentious divorce proceeding.

The commission’s attorney, Mark Lizarraga, pointed out to the panel that Mills had indicated several times that he believed the good time credits did apply, and that he later allowed the good time credits to stand after Sweeney’s attorney complained, and after Mills discussed the matter with a supervising judge.

Murphy tried unsuccessfully to get both misconduct charges dismissed Wednesday, telling the panel in his opening statement that they were unfounded.

“These charges should have never been brought,” Murphy said in his opening statement. Later in the hearing, the panel ruled it did not have the authority to dismiss the charges, but the judges gave no indication what they thought about the merits of the case against Mills.

A 35-year-old Vacaville man who police say stole his roommate’s lottery ticket worth a whopping $10 million returned Friday morning to Solano County Superior Court in Fairfield for more legal proceedings.